View full size2008 photo, Frank OrdonñezFootball star Rob Moore returns to Syracuse from Arizona.Syracuse, N.Y. -- As I’m traveling today from my family’s home in Chicago, it seems as good a time as any to share an offering that can be found in the current edition of Central New York Sports magazine.

The following piece was written by Rob Moore, the former Syracuse University star who was hired earlier this month by Doug Marrone to coach the Orange wide receivers beginning with the 2010 season.

With Moore on board, and with so many people happy that he is, I thought you might enjoy this look at how the man thinks.

Have at it . . .

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By Rob MooreSyracuse University football

We’ve reached the middle of another NFL season, or that time when we start to see some separation from the hunters and the prey, the leaders and the followers, the contenders and the pretenders. It’s that time when players and coaches not only reflect on what has already taken place, but consider what needs to change.

With things starting to take shape now in the form of front-runners, middle-of-the-packers and clubs jockeying for position in the next NFL Draft, those in the league spend November and December pretty much engaged in one of three activities:

(a) Fighting to secure home-field advantage in the postseason,
(b) Trying to stay alive in the playoff hunt or,
(c) Attempting to convince their organizations that they’re part of the solution and not the problem.

The modus operandi in the stretch run for all 32 NFL teams depends solely upon their place in the playoff food chain. Those squads with legitimate chances to qualify for the postseason will have far different approaches than those that see no hope.

During my 12 campaigns in the league -- five with the New York Jets and seven with the Arizona Cardinals -- my clubs enjoyed three seasons of .500 ball or better and earned two playoff appearances, neither of which led to the Super Bowl. So I’ve experienced both sides: I know what it's like to stare into November and December with a bona fide chance to play past Christmas . . . and I know what it’s like to be adrift with virtually no shot whatsoever to land in the postseason.

You’ve heard of polar opposites, right? Well, the physical, mental and emotional aspects found in those two scenarios couldn’t be more different.

Contenders don’t view practice and film study and weightlifting as a cumulative grind. They consider that stuff just part of the daily routine that makes them successful. Winning teams practice for precision, pay attention to the details and have guys who are willing to sacrifice to win, even if that means risking their health. Even teammates who wouldn’t ordinarily get along choose to at least tolerate one another to avoid disrupting morale. And the coaches? They tend to teach more and scream less.

(As a side note, because of my broadcasting role with the Cardinals, I was fortunate enough to be part of their miracle dash to the Super Bowl last season. From the best seat in the house, I watched a once-discontented team transform itself into one of destiny and purpose. Time flew for the Cardinals, who went from punchlines to darlings in the blink of an eye. As the perception of my old club and organization changed, so did the players’ and coaches’ belief in themselves. No surprise there.)

On the other hand, there are those poor also-rans who are playing not for postseason berths, but rather for their livelihoods. Some of those athletes stuck on bad teams are basically auditioning for other franchises. Some are playing for contract extensions or to reach incentives in their contracts. Some, frankly, don't know why they’re playing at all.

Truth is, by the time November and December roll around, there are players and coaches who’ve already mailed it in, depending on just how far out of the race they are. There are, of course, a select few who will continue to respond as professionals should. While physically bruised and mentally battered, they’ll fight the good fight all the way to the end of the season.

It is during these lean times that you look into the mirror at the risk of not liking what you’ll see. When you’re suiting up for a loser in November and December, or that time when players and coaches fear for their jobs and the specter of criticism is paralyzing, your character is tested every day. And I mean tested.

Hours feel like days, days become weeks. Those last two months drag. The clubhouse is frayed and suddenly filled with locker-room politicians who just love to point fingers, but rarely at themselves. Those dreaded “Players Only” meetings are called, usually by phonies whose real message might as well be: “Look at me, Coach. I really do care.”

I mean, gag me.

My faith in God helped me during those bad times, as did certain lessons previously learned, including one from my time at Syracuse University.

I was being redshirted my freshman year on campus in 1986, and the truth of the matter is that I wasn’t responding to the situation very well. I was discouraged and it showed in the way I practiced and carried myself. I got reprimanded by Coach Mac, something that happened a lot that year. But in one of those sessions, he said something I’ve never forgotten.

Coach Mac told me I had a lot of talent, but that if I didn't “disregard all extraneous stimuli and maintain my conscious proprioception,” I would never fulfill it. At the time, naturally, I thought the man was crazy. Conscious proprioception? What was that?

When I learned that it was an “awareness of body position and movement of body segments,” the wisdom of my old SU coach became clear. And from that very moment, each time I was faced with mediocrity and worse -- especially with those Jets and Cardinals -- I would think of Coach Mac's words.

Conscious proprioception in relation to extraneous stimuli. With November here and with December soon to follow, there are a bunch of NFL teams that would do well to heed them.

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(Bud Poliquin’s freshly-written on-line commentaries, his columns and his “To The Point” observations appear virtually every day on syracuse.com. Additionally, his work can be regularly found on the pages of The Post-Standard newspaper. E-mail: bpoliquin@syracuse.com.)